No Left Turns

The Al Jazeera effect

Robert Alt, in The Weekly Standard, explains what he calls the Al Jazeera effect: "The past two weeks have witnessed an increase not only in anti-Coalition activity, but also in anti-Coalition sentiment among Iraqis. The majority of Iraqis still appear to support the Coalition, however this negative creep in public opinion has the potential to threaten that, and thereby may be far more detrimental to the long-term effort in Iraq than the recent series of failed insurgencies. While it is difficult to isolate a single cause, the shift in opinion does not appear to be motivated by either an increase in the popular mandate of Muktada al-Sadr’s cause, or by any alliance of convenience between the Sunnis and Shias. Rather, it is a backlash--a visceral negative response to the perceived wrongs committed by the Coalition. It is, in other words, the Al Jazeera effect." We must find a way to overcome this effect. read it all.

Discussions - 6 Comments

Robert

Robert Alts article on the "Al Jazeera effect" sure sounds familiar. Its exactly the same tactics, distortion of reality, and use of biased media that has been used successfully against Israel. The Palestinians are the ones who perfected this technique of first attacking and then using civililans as shields. When some civilians are inevitably killed (preferably women and children)they portray the Israelis as the aggressors who are deliberately targeting women and children. The biased media then portrays it exactly in this way without any mention of context. This has been so successful in generating falacious yet effective propaganda against Israel its no wonder that they are now using this same proven technique against Americans.

America, the country that basically invented and perfected (perfecting), the use of the screen to sway minds, has sadly given little thot to this aspect of war. Its not just about who has the biggest stick, its about who has the biggest screen.

Just to make up your own mind:
Here is en excerpt of an article in the New York Times dated April 13, 2004, titled:
"In Falluja, Ceasefire Doesnt Reduce Tension, or Danger"

".....Meanwhile, the resistance seems as dogged as ever.

On Sunday, a Marine tank fired 18 rounds into a house where a suspected insurgent was firing from, said Jeremiah Day, a combat engineer from Minnentonka, Minn.

"And afterwards the guy was still standing," Corporal Day said. "It was like Scarface or something."

That same day, Brent Bourgeois, a 20-year-old lance corporal from Kenner, La., said he saw an American helicopter fire a missile at a man with a sling shot.

"Crazy, huh?" Corporal Bourgeois asked...."

What do you guys think an Iraqi eye witness will think after seeing a person "armed" with a sling shot killed by a missile? Open your eyes!!!
Stop seeing what you would like to see behind your cloed eyes!

The American Patriot gives a long excerpt which says very little. The Scarface examples suggests luck on the part of the insurgent, or bad shooting on the part of the Americans, but no malfeasance. The missile attack on the sling-shot carrying civilian is somewhat disturbing, but it would be good to have some context. Was this after curfew, when Marines fire military-aged men on sight? Had this man recently fired a more powerful weapon, such as a mortar? Were there reasons such as distance and/or other threats in the area which prohibited lesser force? The problem is that we dont know any of these things. The reporter quoted the soldier, who likely saw the irony in someone with a sling-shot getting hit by a missile, even if there was good reason (such as having recently fired mortars, etc.) to use deadly force against him. To the American Patriot: if your opinion of the Iraq is formed by the NYT, you need to open your eyes.

Many people in the U.S. assume the rest of the world play according to our rules of fair play and balanced reporting. The rest of the world that do not like the U.S. for any reason will not stop at employing any dirty tactic to make their point. This article presents credible examples of how our enemies are doing their spin of events including outright lies and fraud to our great disadvantage.

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